During his freshman year at Seymour High School, about the same time he began his tenure as starting pitcher on the varsity baseball team, Colin Piatt started working as a lifeguard on a part-time basis at the Seymour YMCA’s indoor swimming pool. His skills on the mound were considerable, leading to a good deal of notoriety as a pitcher.
“I’m not saying I was very good, but I was decent.” Piatt said with a grin.
While he’s since moved on from the sport, the YMCA has remained at the center of his life.
He moved up the ladder over the years from his initial position as part-time lifeguard and has now taken on the role of program director for the local YMCA branch.
“It’s been nine years already.” Piatt said with a touch of wonder in his voice. “You know, I tried working a trade for a year, plumbing. I hated it.”
He laughed before he continued his story, “And I came right back here to the Y. No, I’m not cut out for plumbing. But that taught me a lesson — if your heart’s not in something, it’s never going to last. My heart is in this place.”
Piatt took on additional duties in childcare and proved quite popular, becoming known among the younger set as “Mr. Colin.” He continued, “We’ve had hundreds of kids come through over the years, from all over the area, different towns.”
The Seymour YMCA is an important hub for sporting and community events, as well as providing affordable, responsible childcare services to local families.
Piatt has been and remains integral to providing that care.
“Sometimes I’ll be walking through a store or something and I’ll hear somebody call out, ‘Mr. Colin!’ and here comes one of the kids,” he noted.
“It’s a great feeling.”
A smile plays at the corners of his mouth, “I’m just trying to put something positive into their lives. It doesn’t take much to improve a kid’s day, or week, or even their whole year, their life! Maybe they’ll remember, and it’ll make a difference for them.”
His office is festooned with the tools of his trade.
There is a giant hammer (made from various paper products) for the smiting of one’s foes, as well as a similarly oversized (and constructed) sword.
“That’s the Buster Sword.” Piatt explained. "The oversized toy weapons, fashioned after those found in popular video games, have proven extremely popular with his young clientele. They stage epic battles for the future of humanity on a fairly regular basis, weather permitting. I like to give the kids something active to do, get them outside,” he said. “They love that kind of stuff. It really gets them going.”
With his new role as program director, an assortment of schedules, fliers and hastily-jotted notes have joined the make-believe weaponry.
“It’s a lot of logistical work.” Piatt said of his new position.
“We’ve got three pickleball leagues, senior, youth and adult coed. Adult and youth volleyball starts soon. We’ve got Y-winners basketball, and then two more children’s leagues with, again, more starting soon.”
Piatt doesn’t seem too worried.
“There’s a lot to keep track of,” he said with a smile. “But if I can keep my wits about me while leading a room full of 20 kids, I can handle this.”
And there is a lot to handle.
In addition to pickleball, volleyball, softball, basketball and baseball, there’s the swim meets and practices, swimming lessons, after-school and summer childcare, water aerobics and gymnastics. The YMCA is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and making sure everything runs smoothly is a demanding job.
“The best thing for people who want information on a particular program to do is head to the website or our Facebook page,” Piatt said. “The new gymnasium should be ready to go this Monday or Tuesday, and that will open us up for the basketball leagues, all of those.”
Through the years, many things have changed for Piatt.
He doesn’t spend as much time on the pitcher’s mound, and he’s a married man now. Hayely Queen did him that honor last October. But one thing hasn’t changed — his dedication to his community.
“I want to thank the residents of Seymour for their patience,” he concluded. “Everything we do here is for them, for our home.
“Hopefully they can come in and see the results of the huge amount of work and effort we’ve put in here. It’s for them. We’ve done it with Guy (Gerard, the branch director of the Seymour YMCA) leading the way; it’s a team effort here. We all care about this community very much.”
The Seymour YMCA is located at 315 East Center Avenue in Seymour, next to the Seymour Elementary School.
For hours and program availability, please visit the local YMCA’s Facebook page or www.ofymca.org.
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